Bishops reject contraception rule change

Catholic bishops on Thursday rejected the White House’s latest attempt at compromise on contraception, saying it did not adequately accommodate religious organizations that object to covering free contraception in employee health plans.

"Throughout the past year, we have been assured by the administration that we will not have to refer, pay for, or negotiate for the mandated coverage,” Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement. “We remain eager for the administration to fulfill that pledge.”

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The opposition ensures that the battle over this slim piece of President Barack Obama’s health reform law isn’t going away. In addition to the ongoing conflict with the bishops, several private business owners who object to having to cover contraception on religious grounds have filed lawsuits, which many legal experts expect to reach the Supreme Court.

“It is becoming clear that some people just will not rest until they have found a way to deny women access to birth control coverage,” she said in a statement. “Despite the latest complaints from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the bottom line is that places of worship are exempt from the birth control benefit, and they always have been.”

The administration last Friday had offered a revised policy that exempted more religious nonprofits, and tried to wall off religious’ groups’ money so it wasn’t used to provide the benefit, which women would still get.

Proponents of the administration’s policy say free contraception — including drugs that the bishops say can cause abortions —are a basic part of women’s preventive health benefits and should be required by the health law.

Opponents, including the Catholic church and other religious groups, say that requiring employers to provide such drugs is a violation of Americans’ right to practice their religion, if they find those products immoral.

In addition to the legal battles, the debate is playing out in the arena of public opinion. The church has blasted the policy from the pulpit and Obama has repeatedly touted the benefit of birth control without a co-pay, during the presidential campaign and after.

The Catholic bishops waited nearly a week to comment on the White House policy. Their statement Thursday did acknowledge “some movement by the administration.” But the bishops said the latest White House proposal still falls short.

In particular, Dolan criticized the administration’s “narrow” definition of a religious organization. He also objected to religious-affiliated institutions having to find an intermediary that would provide the contraceptive coverage — part of the compromise the administration had outlined. He also noted that the new White House policy did not address the objections of religious owners of for-profit businesses.

“In obedience to our Judeo-Christian heritage, we have consistently taught our people to live their lives during the week to reflect the same beliefs that they proclaim on the Sabbath,” Dolan said, referring to these business owners. “We cannot now abandon them to be forced to violate their morally well-informed consciences.”

The Obama administration said that religion-affiliated institutions — such as a Catholic school or Christian hospital — could kick the responsibility to cover contraceptives to a third-party administrator, who would find an insurance policy that would cover contraception. But it did not appease concerns from religious organizations that did not want their employment tied to birth control or drugs that they feel cause abortions — in any manner.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 2:28 p.m. on February 7, 2013.